Ben’s Car Blog

I love the Japanese Restorer in Australia magazine. It’s produced by Jonathan Barr in Queensland and it’s devoted to old Japanese cars.

Australia is in a fairly unique position with old Japanese cars. We were usually the only export market for a lot of old, interesting, cars from Japan. Coupled with the mostly warm air and lack of salt on the roads, we have many more old Japanese cars getting around than any other country.

JRiA is a broad church, covering all Japanese manufacturers of cars and trucks. The contacts Jonathan Barr has allows him to cover car shows in Japan as well as locally. If you’re at all interested in old cars, check it out. And if you’re in to old Japanese cars — Toyota, Datsun, Mazda, Honda, Mitsubishi, and more — you really need to check this magazine out.

I recently showed several of my copies to my parents, which was interesting for two reasons. First, although I knew that my Mum owned a new Toyota KE20 Corolla, back in the day, I didn’t know that what she really wanted was a KE15 Sprinter. I reckon she’d be in for a KE15 today, given her enthusiasm for the ones in the magazine. Second, while I’d always thought of my Dad as a Holden (and maybe Valiant and Volvo) man, he told me that he’d always like the 1970s RX-4/929 coupes. Excellent. A KE15 and an RX-4 coupe would go nicely with my 1500ss.

CarsGuide has a very poor storyby Paul Gover on the (un)likelyhood of a new RX-7.

There will be no new Mazda RX-7. That is the message, loud and clear, at the Tokyo Motor Show.

This line makes me think that an “RX-3″ is more and more likely:

But Mazda continues to deny plans to put a born-again RX-7 into its line-up. It says it has more than enough sports-car coverage with the MX-5 and RX-8.

I also like this:

Mazda Australia’s former managing director, Malcolm Gough, who is now general manager of overseas sales at Mazda headquarters in Hiroshima, says: “There is no plan for an RX-7. There is nothing firm. So far as I know, nothing is happening.”

It reminds me of Seargent Schultz from Hogan’s Hero’s. “I know nothing! Nothing!”.

Let’s not even discuss the “1980s RX-3″ part at the end. RX-3s ceased production in 1976, as can be ascertained from the Mazda Australia website.

I acquired a new project car on Saturday. I’m really quite excited. I’ve named it Harvey.

Harvey’s a Mazda 1500ss with a few, um, modifications.

Off the top of my head, he’s got:

• flared wheel arches front and rear
• RX-4 coupe roof console (woohoo! 20 year old rice!)
• old 929 seats

Oh, and let’s not forget that he’s got a Toyota 18r-g engine and Celica 5-speed gear box engine in place of the 1500ss motor and box. So he’s just a tad more powerful. Well, he will be when he runs.

The paint has been rubbed back sometime in the distant past but because of the lovely dry Canberra weather and the fact that it’s been in a shed the whole time it’s in fair condition for what it is.

Here is Harvey, just rolled out of the shed. My friend Jen came with me and provided much needed expertise in all project car acquistion and transport matters.

No doubt Jen is thinking “What has he got himself in to?”

This picture is a little misleading. The rear flare looks like it’s fibre-glass when it’s actually all steel. Also, Harvey is a complete car, but he’s stripped at the moment.

I’m thinking of keeping the tennis ball petrol cap, even though I have several spares, for that “rat rod” feel.

Harvey was so dusty and covered in spider webs that we literally broomed him off. The things hanging out of the headlight binacles are the under-bumper indicators and parkers. Oh, and Harvey has an early 1800 bonnet instead of a ventless 1500 one.

Harvey on Jen’s Dad’s car trailer. We had to winch him up. In the second shot of the right side you can see what the flares are supposed to look like.

I’ve since primered all the exposed bare metal.

Now all I need is money (ha!) and time (d’oh)!

In the last shot with Harvey on the trailer, you can see (just) a white car parked next to the fence. Here’s a better look:

I’ll be back for some parts off that one later.

There’s a few more pics of Harvey at my flickr, under the tag “Harvey“.

Photos from the recent, inagural, RX-8 Nationals are on-line and available for purchase.

I really like this one.

The Car Connection has a story on the Toyko Motorshow where they say that Mazda’s given a tiny glimpse of something special:

A mini RX-8 along the lines of the MX-3 - that’s the tantalizing description of a car Mazda will unveil at the North American International Auto Show in January.

Journalists at this week’s Tokyo event were given a sneak preview of the vehicle, in the form of a grainy sketch that appeared on a presentation screen for a few seconds. Little official information is available. However, company insiders have hinted the two-seater concept points the way to a production model that will hit showrooms around 2008.

The newcomer is being designed and developed by Mazda North America, based in Irvine, Calif. “It’s an exciting continuation of the Mazda DNA with an understanding of the market place and what it wants,” said director Franz von Holzhausen.

When I posted this I was thinking it was just an MX-5 coupe but now I’m thinking that Mazda might be doing a rotary variation as well. Obviously if Mazda are focus-grouping a new rotary car then they can’t say it’s a rotary — because that would give the game away. Couple that with the 4-cylinder specs that are near-enough to exactly the same as the current MX-5 and I’m thinking this is the car we’re talking about.

A piston and rotary variation of the coupe could explain the decision to introduce the MX-5 name into the US so that they can brand the new car the RX-5 in the rotary version and the MX-5 coupe in the piston version.

This is really tempting (though it’s probably false economy, too) — I was watching the Australian Motorshow webcast and Doug Dickson announced the new Mazda6 diesel with Mazda’s award winning MZR-CD engine. Now that’s what I’m talking about.

There’s still no information on the Mazda Australia website but all going by the extensive press release from March this year on Autoweb the diesel cars will only come with the new 6-speed manual. There are apparently 2 versions of the engine one with lower power rating and one higher. Both are quoted as having the same Co2 emmissions and fuel economy. Overseas the diesels are available in the sedan, hatch and wagon body styles. I’m not sure which we’ll get but I’m guessing we won’t get all three (six counting engine variations) which is a shame because I could really dig a high-power 6-speed diesel Mazda6 wagon.

Dear Mr Dickson — please approve the wagon. Please!

Is this the new RX-3 that people are speculating about? Jalopnik reports that AutoSpies have info on a focus group for a new Mazda coupe (one assumes it’s a Mazda) that’s “a cross between the RX-8 and the Aston Martin DB9 but in a much smaller package”.

Interesting. Also, the specs of this concept:

Concept Specs
4 cyl. 2.0 liter engine
161 HP
129 lb/ft torque
2436 lbs
18” tires

closely match the current MX-5 specs:

MX-5 Specs
4 cyl. 2.0 liter engine
158 HP/118kw
188 nM / 138 lb/ft Torque
2403 lbs / 1090 kgs
18” tires

Very interesting indeed.

Mazda’s MPS 6 is launched with a price of $48.600 for the basic spec car and $54,600 for the leather pack, undercutting the RX-8.

If I had that much cash, I’d be hard pressed to chose between the two.

(Mazda6 MPS launched Down Under)